Beyond the Civil Society Days process linked to the GFMD, the PGA provides an independent space for dialogue, assessment of critical migration developments, and strategizing. We expect participants to come from all the global regions, and as in previous PGA’s, we will enjoy the inclusion of many local activists and advocates. The PGA is the space that links the local to the global.

The PGA program in Berlin will include plenaries, self-organized workshops, and strategy sessions for movement-building. This is a critical year for migrant movement building at the PGA as we strategize recommendations for the Global Compact on Migration in 2017-2018. UN member states will negotiate and adopt the Global Compact on Migration in 2018 — setting the framework for migration governance and policies for decades to come. This high level action shows how important migration issues have become on the international stage.

Even though UN member states committed in the 2016 New York Declaration to protect the human rights of all migrants, regardless of status, a climate of increased racism and xenophobia toward migrants makes it a difficult time to negotiate an agreement to protect migrants. The stakes are high: depending on what forms this cooperation takes, state cooperation could be good for migrants — or bad. This is why civil society, especially through the voices of migrant communities, must speak out clearly and effectively on our own behalf as governments work towards the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.